JHCC

Definitely one time you want to be the one one on the rebound.

Probably 1820-1830, then.

Don't get over-wrought; it's 50 Shades of Gray Iron.

Put it in a trash bag, add vinegar, squeeze out the air, duct tape it shut. Be creative!

Lookin' good!

Well, get to know it on a casual basis first. Getting together for lunch or coffee can be a great way to get to know each other without the pressure of dinner and a fancy evening. Spend more time listening than you do talking; try to find out what the Trenton might want from a relationship to see if that's the way you want to do as well. Respect the Trenton's boundaries, and don't try to take things too far too fast.

Slabs in a brake rotor is a recipe for failure; don't even bother. If you have a good supply of pine slabs, then you definitely need to go with a separate fire and moving the coals with a shovel. If your shovel doesn't have a handle, make a new one from a tree branch. You're just moving coals; it doesn't have to be strong enough to withstand digging in heavy clay. There is a simple way to use what you have to good effect. You have everything you need to succeed; the only thing standing in your way is YOU. The question you have to ask yourself is, Am I willing to do what will work? Or am I going to keep trying to do something that isn't going to work (or isn't going to work well) because that's the way that I think I should do it?

I've got an idea for what to do about the mixing of fill and coal; I'll try it out and post a picture if it works. I've only fired it up once so far, so the following may not be representative. I found that the clinker tended to build up mostly under the nozzle, but also with some significant lumps above it as well, much the same as the old JABOD. However (and I can't overemphasize how significant this is), it was SUPER EASY to remove the clinker: just build the fire up a bit to melt everything together, kill the blast and allow the clinker to harden up a bit, and fish it out with a poker. Easy peasy. With the JABOD, I had a lot of trouble with the clinker sticking to the adobe (despite the many different sand/clay proportions I tried), and it could take a lot of leverage to get it out (with the attendant risk of something breaking loose and scattering burning coal everywhere). It would almost always bring away pieces of the firebowl. Sometimes I even had to hack the stuff out with a hammer and chisel. In short, because it's so easy to remove the clinker and the heat of the fire is not going to heat up the clinker or the adobe around the tuyere, it's much easier to keep a good fire going and to have its heat go into the metal where it belongs. I haven't lost much coal over the edge, but that's just from being careful. It'll be easier once the rim is on. I've decided to add a little gate over the gap in the back rail, which I'll only open up when I need the pass-through for a long piece. One of the biggest differences between your forge and mine is the depth of the hearth. Mine is significantly deeper, so the fireball sits in front of and slightly above the tuyere, whereas yours (if I remember correctly) is primarily in front. I think if you increased the height of the sides of your forge by about four inches and added a lot more fill, it might work better. I'll try and show you what I mean the next time we get together. (Which might be next week; you around on Tuesday or Wednesday evening?)

Doesn't have to be a drum; any fire will do, as long as it's of sufficient size. They have these wonderful things called "axes". Go around to construction sites and ask if you can have their scrap lumber. Many contractors are happy to have you take that stuff away, as it saves them haulage and disposal fees. This is also the time of year that a lot of people are cleaning up around their houses and are getting rid of brush and tree limbs. Everything you need is out there; you just have to open your eyes and look. The trick is to not leave the shovel in the fire.

What SLAG said, every word.

Suggestion, since we know you have wood to burn: build a separate wood fire (in your 55 gal drum or something) and transfer the burning coals into the forge as needed.

That’s a beautiful piece of work. Seems like a bit of a departure from your usual simplicity, but you’ve done an amazing job of incorporating tremendous complexity within a design of enormous sophistication. Once again, my hat is off to you!

“Especially not one that’s red.” John Deere, blacksmith

Too much hassle. I’ll leave gaps front and back as passes-through.

Found some thin flat stock in the drop bin at the steel supplier and decided to go with that. Here it is with two short bits bent off the long side. I’ll trim it up and weld it on some time in the next couple of days, along with two shorter pieces to go front and back on the left.

New sideblast with water tuyere and bosh:

Very nice! Is that standard brick or firebrick?

Why would you put a handle on a belt sander? Okay, joking aside, it looks like you’ve overheated the very end and ruined whatever heat treatment may have been there. That’s going to need to be redone before you put a handle on. What steel did you use, and how do you plan to attach the handle?

It's an anvil.

I stopped watching his stuff a while back, after he (in my opinion, at least) shifted his emphasis from education to entertainment. Not to denigrate his forging skill or business model (videos of him making swords and such obviously get more views); it's just that I found his earlier stuff had a lot more teaching value and a lot less dramatic music and camera work.

Yes, and yes.

Yes: it's a waste of money. Refractory cement is basically good for one thing: sticking together other materials that have to withstand heat. It's not a good flame face, and it's not a good insulator. In a JABOD, the dirt/mud/sand/kitty litter/whatever both forms the firebowl and insulates the box from the heat. If your box is big enough (that is, a bare minimum of 2-3" of dirt between the fire and the wood; more is better), you'll be fine.

Socratic. The Platonic method is all talk and no action.

A local guy is selling off his business, which got me this nice DeWalt 7” angle grinder (with some discs and accessories) for fifty bucks. First order of business is to PUT THE GUARD BACK ON!!

Welcome to IFI, Daguy. If you haven't yet, please READ THIS FIRST!!!